squeegeesunny 

..

Biffle

you can weave through traffic easier, but don't cut it any shorter than 20"

golfer007

Can you explain why? Curious...but I am sure it has something do to with functionality and safety?

das_pyrate

easier to squeeze between cars, less leverage for turning

machine

but whats the point of being able to fit through a gap your hips/shoulders/cranks cant?

its just another one of those things that are for "function," but became about fashion. cut em down, by all means, but dont go to the ******** lengths people have gone

sau

the only reason to have short flat bars is if you are biking in between automobiles fairly frequently.

squeegeesunny 

mine are pretty long but i dont go through traffic or anything, just a 4 miles to school and sometimes 3 miles to supermarkets, and every saturday, 15miles on a bike trail. its like 55cm? 60cm? NOT SURE but its longer than everyone else's on the Bike Porn thread.

No-T

I find it helps with maneuverability. In my opinion it makes no sense to cut it any shorter than your shoulders or basic overall width (your ass). If you're saying it helps to get through traffic easier having it way shorter than your body is wide I think you're stupid.
But some people do it for looks, which on some bikes it looks ok.

Noobert

road bikes arn't spose to have huge MTB size handlebars. So 'we' cut them down.

Scrodzilla

Good for traffic but if they're any shorter than your ass is wide, it's pointless (and somewhat uncomfortable).

edit: No-T beat me to it!

Thetank

Scrodzilla

^ That's just dumb.

squeegeesunny 

HAHAH thats sick

fuzz2050

your bars should be shoulder width, plus a cm or two, depending on taste.

A lot of hipsters are just weak little kids.

Thetank

Actually it isn't, that is what some people refer to as "Humor."

squeegeesunny 

thanks! when i asked my lbs about cutting it shorter they got pissed-ish at me and said it will cost ~$20 so i refused and i am going to do it alone, pipe cutter from home depot or kmart hacksaw? i am 15, and i cant afford too much.

stryper

Maybe you don't cut through traffic that often so you are ignorant from a lack of experience, but it is useful to have your bars shorter in than your shoulders or cranks cause you lean hard when you cut traffic, and usually most of that leaning puts your bars further out than any other part of the bike.

Big Pete

its just for looks I have ridden fixed bikes with short bars and there fine. I just got a Spacebar and loving t on the old GT MTB playbike!! Good luck. Also a jigsaw with a new wood blade will cut it just be carefull.

Scrodzilla

20 bucks to cut bars is ridiculous. I used a hacksaw on my alloy risers and they came out perfect. Just go slow, make sure you measure well (cut one side, then use the discarded portion to mark the other side) and use a new blade. I filed the edges a bit as well to get rid of the sharp edge.

Start by cutting them to the width of your shoulders. You're most likely not going to be weaving in and out of urban traffic and riding with your arms straight is much more comfortable (to me, at least). You can always take more off if you decide to go shorter.

time bandit

its a joke. i dont event think that's a bar. its just an oury in a stem. hahahaha

squeegeesunny 

Thank you , now i have to just convince my mom to buy me a hacksaw

Mattpatt

If you have to buy a hacksaw, instead buy a pipe cutter.

Scrodzilla

Yeah...I figured you already had a hacksaw.

squeegeesunny 

Naw man, Just moved to Jersey few months ago and my dads a salesman and my moms a house-mom. And my dads hobby is... playing golf so no hacksaw at our house :/

Fugazi Dave

Crank clearance has never been an issue for me, bar clearance has. You can twist your shoulders a bit to dodge a mirror or make a tight squeeze, but you can't do that with your bars without steering in a direction you probably don't want to be steering in.

A hacksaw is cheap and won't ovalize the end of your bars the way a pipe cutter can. Make sure you get a hardened blade, though. You can probably borrow one from a neighbor, really. Lots of people have them around. Measure carefully from the ends of the bars with a ruler, wrap with masking tape, and mark it with a sharpie all the way around. This makes it easy to make a straight cut. After you've cut 'em, take off the tape and clean up the ends with a file.

~5 minutes to do it carefully and do a good job of it.

My bars are 36cm and after 3+ years of them, I still have yet to find bars that narrow to be uncomfortable. Granted, I'm a small guy, but still. Play with hand positions a while before you cut down your bars, though. You can always chop more off, but you can't put it back on.